Confession

Summarizing the teaching on sin, every deliberate sin produces two primary wounds:

• A disordered inclination of the human will toward the evil committed, habituating the soul to vice.
• Separation from God. This distance may be minor—in venial or light sins—or it may result in the loss of supernatural life and sanctifying grace—in grave or mortal sins.

Besides grave matters committed without full awareness or consent, there are numerous daily venial sins: telling small lies, moments of laziness, small failures of respect or charity, petty gossip and mocking remarks, carelessness in prayer, overindulgence in food and personal comforts, superfluous expenses, and so on.

A mortal sin is committed when one freely and with full knowledge chooses an action that involves grave matter against God's law. Examples include: blaspheming God, deliberately missing Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation, engaging in impure sexual acts, drunkenness or substance abuse, serious hatred, and grave injustice.

To receive God's forgiveness for our offenses, we must use the means that God Himself established. It is precisely for this reason that Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of Confession.

It is very good to ask God for forgiveness frequently in our personal prayer, and the Almighty can forgive sins however He chooses. However, Christ explicitly established that sins would be forgiven through the ministry of His priests:

«If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are retained» (Jn 20:23)

The fruits of sacramental Confession are manifold and heal the wounds of sin directly:

• It heals and corrects the disordered inclination of the will.
• It reconciles the soul with God, restoring peace and friendship.
• It restores the supernatural dignity of the soul diminished by sin.
• It imparts actual graces that fortify the soul against future temptations.
• In the case of mortal sins, it restores lost sanctifying grace and divine life, reopening the gates of heaven.
• By drawing close to God, the soul experiences profound peace and supernatural joy.

Approach a Catholic priest and humbly ask for his assistance to make a good confession. Begin by stating the approximate time that has elapsed since your last confession. Then confess your sins clearly and honestly, bearing in mind that all unconfessed mortal sins must be confessed according to their kind and approximate frequency—for example: “Over the past three months, I looked at pornography a couple of times a week; over the past year, I missed Sunday Mass about half the time.” For venial sins, it is not necessary to state exact numbers; it suffices to mention typical struggles: “I have been impatient, succumbed to laziness, spoken unkindly...”

Because we are asking God for mercy, the indispensable condition is sincere contrition (sorrow for having offended God), accompanied by a firm resolution of amendment—the genuine resolve to avoid committing those sins again and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

To make a valid confession, one is not expected to predict the future; rather, what is required in the present moment is a sincere, firm resolve not to sin.

One must sincerely repent of and confess all known mortal sins, for intentionally withholding even a single mortal sin invalidates the confession and prevents the reception of sanctifying grace and spiritual healing. With venial sins, however, it is not strictly necessary to confess every single one.

Promptly perform the penance assigned by the confessor, and offer heartfelt thanksgiving to God for His boundless mercy. Without the sacrament of Confession, human life would be clouded with anxiety and despair.